From its foundation in 1768 the Royal Academy of Arts has provided a voice for art and artists. We are an independent charity led by eminent artists and architects—the Royal Academicians—and we pursue our mission through exhibitions, education and debate.

Charlotte Hobson: ‘The Vanishing Futurist’

Award-winning author Charlotte Hobson leads this intimate book club discussing her novel ‘The Vanishing Futurist’, set in Russia during the tumultuous times surrounding the 1917 revolution.

When 22-year-old Gerty Freely travels to Russia to work as a governess in early 1914, she has no idea of the vast political upheavals that lie ahead. In 1917, revolution sweeps away the Moscow that Gerty arrived in. The middle classes flee the city, but she stays, throwing herself into an experiment in communal living led by charismatic inventor Nikita Slavkin, inspired by his belief in a future free of bourgeois clutter and alight with creativity. Slavkin’s sudden disappearance inspires the Soviet cult of the Vanishing Futurist, the scientist who sacrificed himself for the Communist ideal. Gerty must now discover where that ideal will ultimately lead.

This book club coincides with the RA’s Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 exhibition. Author Charlotte Hobson will lead this book club, giving participants a unique opportunity to discuss The Vanishing Futurist directly with the author.

Charlotte Hobson is the award-winning author of Black Earth City: A Year in the Heart of Russia (Granta). The Vanishing Futurist is published by Faber & Faber.

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